Sonia Guyer's Trojans eliminated the Shamrocks by scores of 22-25, 25-15, 25-13, 26-24, and will next face Palmyra in Thursday's semifinals at 6 p.m. at Wilson High School in West Lawn. Palmyra swept West Perry 3-0.

Trinity coach John Barrick and the Shamrocks fell 3-1 to York Suburban Tuesday night in the District 3-AA quarterfinals. (JOE HERMITT, PennLive.com, 2013)

Running a 6-2 offense (six attackers, two setters), Suburban (13-3) out of York County rode 20 kills from Kayla Gibbs and 17 more from Maura Brehl -- both outside hitters -- to bounce the Shamrocks (17-5). With freshman starting setter Georgia DuMars out with an ankle injury suffered before Saturday's opening-round sweep of Schuylkill Valley, it was sophomore Mikayla McBride subbing in.

McBride and the Trojans' other regular setter, Emily Miller, shared 38 assists (21 for McBride) to direct Suburban's balanced attack, including decisive wins in Games 2 and 3.

KEY MOMENT

Trinity fell into a funk after its Game 1 victory but appeared to regain momentum in Game 4. A kill by Madison Pugh, in fact, had John Barrick's Shamrocks leading 24-21 and needing just one more point to force a decisive Game 5.

But a Brehl kill forced a side out for Suburban, and Miller served the match out, finishing with an ace to cap the game-ending 5-0 run.

STAT GAME

In addition to Gibbs and Brehl on the outside, Suburban got significant offensive contributions from Morgan Lehman (eight kills, three blocks), Ciara Buckingham (three kills) and Macy Jordan (two kills, five assists). McBride added three aces, with Miller and Jordan Landis serving two each. Landis' 23 digs led the defense.

For Trinity, setter Katie Goyette posted 29 assists, with a team-high 19 kills from Olivia Shine. Pugh added six kills, with Alisah Cash contributing three kills and two blocks out of the middle. According to the Shamrocks' stat keeper, Shine led with 49 digs.

QUOTABLE

Guyer on McBride stepping in: "That tells us how strong our program is coming up to varsity. She stepped in on Saturday for us, too, and did a great job. The girls as a whole -- JV, varsity -- we look at it as one squad."

Barrick on the mid-match funk: "Our Achilles' heel all season long has been our passing, and it broke down in Games 2 and 3. Got a little better in Game 4, and we blocked better in Game 4. But Games 2 and 3 we made it easy on them, gave them easy points. I thought we had it turned around in Game 4, but they stole the last couple points from us."

Barrick on Suburban's new setter: "I couldn't tell any difference at all. They ran their offense, and they wore us down. [If I didn't already know, I would have] had no idea their setter was out."

FINAL REACTION

Taking nothing away from Suburban's victory -- the Trojans were, in fact, the better team on this night -- it's worth noting that the match wasn't called tightly in terms of hands violations. Some questionable contact was allowed, and that ultimately benefited Suburban. Barrick and Trinity's players were clearly frustrated during and after the match.

But, as Barrick pointed out, it was the team's lack of crisp passing -- and, in turn, an inconsistent attack -- that ultimately cost Trinity a chance to reach the semifinals.

Suburban, meanwhile, rolls into the semis bursting with confidence. Should be an entertaining tilt with Palmyra with a state berth on the line.